The invention is directed to a tool holder that can be clamped onto a vacuum hose or suction hose or onto the intake nozzle that is placed on the end of the hose and is inserted into a septic tank or other reservoir of liquid waste so that the liquid waste can be sucked up, typically into a vacuum tank on a pumper truck of the type that are used throughout the septic service industry.
Typically, the truck has a vacuum tank with a capacity of a few thousand gallons and has a vacuum pump capable of evacuating the tank to about minus 18 to minus 21 inches of mercury (about minus 10 psig). The hose is inserted into the septic tank for the purpose of sucking the waste up through the hose into the tank on the truck. It typically take about an hour to remove the liquid from a typical septic tank this way. For deeper, vertical septic tanks hardly any light enters the septic tank and it can be very difficult for the operator to check visually on the level in the tank, or to navigate the nozzle of the hose to the best position. Moreover, it is often needed to use a jet spray or fetter to knock off obstructions that may block the sewage from being picked up by the hose.
Accordingly, there has been a need to provide a simple system to improve the lighting within the septic system and elsewhere when attachment is to be fitted onto a vacuum hose of this type or on a hose or fixture of that diameter. It is another object to provide an intake nozzle for the suction hose that eases the flow of the liquid waste through the suction hose into the storage tank on the vacuum pumper truck, which reduces the time to pump out the customer's septic tank, and which reduces the problems of blockage and spillage.
According to an important aspect of the present invention, an intake nozzle is fitted onto the distal end of the suction hose, and incorporates a mechanism that mixes air into the liquid at the intake point. This action also floats the nozzle at or near the top surface of the liquid waste which makes it easier for the employee to manipulate the vacuum hose. This tool has been found to decrease the loading time from the typical one hour to about 24 minutes.
In a practical embodiment, the vacuum intake nozzle of this invention has a generally vertical tubular body,
In operation, the hose is lowered into the septic tank, and the nozzle penetrates below the top surface. The vacuum pump in the pumper truck is turned on, which evacuates the tank, and eventually creates a suction inside the hose. This suction causes the liquid waste to start to move up into the nozzle and up the vacuum hose towards the pumper truck. The shape and dimensions of the nozzle can vary, but most generally stated, the nozzle has an elongated tubular body or housing, which is usually oriented vertically, and with an upper end adapted to secure to a distal end of the suction hose.
In order to illuminate the inside of the septic tank in the vicinity of the end of the hose or the nozzle, the operator typically will shine a flashlight into the top opening of the tank. This requires the operator to use one hand for the flashlight and one for controlling the hose, or else it is necessary to have a helper hold the light and aim it into the tank. When the tank is partly evacuate, the surface of the material can be a long ways below the top opening of the septic tank, so that the flashlight no longer provides well-aimed illumination of adequate strength.
It is often necessary to us a jet sprayer or jetter to direct a jet of water onto solid matter that may be obstructing the flow of the waste water, or may be clinging to the sides of the tank. It would be convenient to attach the jetter hose to the hose or to the hose nozzle so that the operator can use both hands to control the vacuum hose. However no adequate hose clamp has been available to attach the jetter hose onto the vacuum hose or its intake nozzle.